Etymologically
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fatigue

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /fəˈtiːɡ/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French fatigue (“weariness”), from fatiguer (“to tire”),[2][3][4] from Latin fatīgō (“to tire out”), originally to cause to break down,[2][3] from a pre-Latin *fatiagos (“driving to breaking point”), from *fatis, an Old Latin word seen in affatim (“to bursting, enough”), and the root of agō (“to drive”).[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

That which causes weariness, a tiring task: 1669 in Barnhart, the OED and Merriam-Webster, the 1660s in Etymonline.[2][5][6][3]

Semantic evolution

Weariness from exertion is from 1719.[5][3] A soldier's non-military duties, sometimes given as punishment, are fatigues from 1776,[5][3][7] and fatigue dress, the clothes worn for them, from 1836.[5] The weakening of metals under repeated stress is from 1854 in the OED (1877 in Etymonline),[5][3] and a temporary loss of response in muscles or organs from 1872.[5] The verb is from the 1690s; an earlier verb was fatigate (1530s).[3]

Timeline

  • 1669 – a wearying task.[2][5]
  • 1690s – to fatigue (verb).[3]
  • 1719 – weariness.[5][3]
  • 1776 – military fatigues.[5]
  • 1854 – metal fatigue.[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. Extreme tiredness from physical or mental effort; exhaustion.
  2. The weakening of a material such as metal under repeated stress.
  3. (physiology) Temporary inability of an organ or muscle to respond, after overactivity.
  4. Fatigues: menial duties of soldiers, or the clothes worn for them.

Verb

  1. To tire out; to weary.

Word family

  • fatiguingly
  • fatigueless
  • antifatigue
  • overfatigue
  • battle fatigue
  • chronic fatigue syndrome
  • combat fatigue
  • compassion fatigue
  • fatigable
  • indefatigable
  • fatigued
  • agent

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press